SEEU Review vol. 5 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

Zoran Sapuric, PhD and Vullnet Zenki, MSc.
consideration the ecological benefits and the degradation of the environment.
Agenda 21 has forty chapters which refer to separate areas of the concept of
sustainable development.
Agenda 21 calls all the countries to adopt their national strategies for
sustainable development which harmonize and integrate all sector policies.
As a result, a lot of countries undertake activities about determining their
national strategies for sustainable development. As a first country, it was
Great Britain to adopt its national strategy, followed by Finland, France,
Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Denmark.
Other EU member states adopted their national strategies for sustainable
development after the EU adopted this strategy within the framework of the
Union itself, starting with Germany, Sweden, and Austria, and then followed
by Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands. New EU member states
also adopted their national strategies for sustainable development. By doing
this, states are actually implementing the dispositions of the concept of
sustainable development determined by Agenda 21 and other international
documents, whereas EU member states are implementing and refining the
dispositions of the strategy of the Union, too. The basic elements of the
sustainable development in national strategies are adapted to concrete
conditions of each state separately. In this case, there are differences in
determining these priorities. In this context, developing countries pay more
attention to the economic and social development and, somehow, leave
behind issues relating to the protection of the environment and the
sustainable exploitation of natural resources.
The EU in accordance with the harmonization of its own policies adopted
a strategy at Union level. The first EU strategy for sustainable development
was adopted at the Summit of the European Council held in June 2001 in
Goteborg in Sweden and was called the Goteborg Strategy. This strategy
expresses the strong determination for a new approach towards the decision
making process within the EU whereupon the obligation that all decisions
made in the EU should have into consideration the economic and social
aspects as well as aspects relating to the environment is confirmed.
According to this strategy, the sustainable development will create
economic progress, development of new technologies and new investments,
new jobs and better quality of living for all EU citizens. For member states,
an obligation for adaptation of their strategies with the strategy of the EU has
also been foreseen. The compilation of national strategies has to be in
conformity with the EU institutions. The strategy anticipates that all sector
policies in the EU will have to take into consideration the sustainable
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